Philipp says one of the reasons why is the Affordable Care Act. It gives millions more people access to healthcare. It will also have more nurses working in locations outside of a clinic or hospital.

"Both the Affordable Care Act and even before that the insurance companies do not want people to be in the hospital as long as they have been, so there's a role for nurses in care coordination," Philipp said.

Another reason for the shortage is around 50 percent of the nursing workforce is nearing retirement.

"Especially because people hung on during the recession, now they're saying it's time to retire," Philipp said.

In fact, because of the demand for nurses, Augustana launched an accelerated nursing program this week. It's for students who already have a college degree and have completed the prerequisites.

"Once they have those and they begin the nursing courses, they are finished with their nursing degree in 16 months," Philipp said.

Because of the nursing shortage, Elsasser is not worried about finding a job after college. She's also excited to start the career of her dreams.